What's Nay: The plot gets stretched at a couple of places, the past life track lacks the spark

Popcorn Refill: Interval

Iconic Moment: The scenes involving Sushant- Kriti's light-hearted romance and the sequence making a startling revelation about Jim just pre-interval.

Plot

A shirtless Shiv (Sushant Singh Rajput) emerging from the water body in a gurudwara with his six pack abs prominently in focus! That's how Raabta unravels onscreen with the first shot.

Shiv next lands up in Budapest for work. For all those who think bankers are boring, this Punjabi munda debunks that myth! He is a charming bloke when it comes to flirting and throwing cheesy pick-up lines at women. On one such date, his eyes fall on the lovely Saira (Kriti Sanon) in a patisserie. Sparks flow instantly and our boy gets swept off the feet.

He begins to work his charming ways on Saira and she slowly reciprocates his feelings. Soon the couple realizes that there's more to their 'one night stand'. Meanwhile, Saira continues to have flashes about drowning in water and a hazy past life. She also suffers from hydrophobia. However, doubts arise when she feels a karmic connection with Shiv and a fortune teller warns her about history repeating itself.

Enter Zac Merchant (Jim Sarbh), a wealthy, liquor baron with a mysterious air around him. Strangely, Saira feels connected to him too in some ways. A sneak-peek into the past life and it eventually becomes all clear! The rest of the film now holds the answer to with whom is Saira eventually going to walk away with.

Direction

Bollywood has seen several reincarnation films in the past but debutante director Dinesh Vijan's Raabta has a whiff of fresh air when it comes to the backdrop of the plot.

Unfortunately this doesn't prevent him from defying logic and steering clear of stereotypes and clichés.

He manages to capture his lead pair's chemistry onscreen brilliantly and pulls off the fluffy parts of the film quite well. Despite a novel concept, Raabta ends up as a half-baked film as Dinesh Vijan falters and bores when it comes to the intense part of storytelling.

The first half of the film focusses on Sushant-Kriti's love track. Though their lovey-dovey moments keep you hooked, you still feel the clock ticking; blame it on the plot which gets over-stretched a bit. Had the second half been as interesting than the first, Raabta could have been a more enjoyable fare.

Performances

Sushant Singh Rajput wins you over with his playful act. Barring a bit here and there, he perfectly pulls off the macho cockiness with ease. And yes, he goes full throttle with his allure.

At the same time, when it comes to portrayal of a warrior, he looks fierce and powerful except for that strange accent which kind of puts you off.

Kriti Sanon looks mesmerizing. When it comes to the acting department, she fares better than her last film 'Dilwale' but still has a long way to go.

Jim Sarbh is a perfect foil to Sushant- Kriti's romance. He eludes mystery right from the first frame and is intriguing. On the flipside, his heavily-accented Hindi does manage to distract you at times.

Varun Sharma is disappointing in the film. The makers chose to focus more on Rajkummar Rao's prosthetic looks rather than giving him something substantially to portray. What a waste of talent on screen even if it's for a cameo role!

Deepika Padukone's song appears a tad late in the film.

Technical Aspects

Writer duo Siddharth- Garima who have penned films like Ram-Leela and Brothers in the past have a reincarnation tale to offer this time. But they fail to create a novelty factor in Raabta when it comes to writing.

And yes, the film is way different from Ram Charan Teja- Kajal Aggarwal starrer Magadheera which too explored a similar theme.

Martin Preiss scores high in the cinematography department as his camera perfectly flirts with the picturesque locations in the film.

A. Sreekar Prasad's editing scissors should have been a bit more sharper to make Raabta more refined.

Music

The breezy 'Ikk Vaari Aa' and the foot-tapping 'Main Tera Boyfriend' which appears during the end credits is our pick from the lot.

Verdict

Romance, comets, revenge, dreams and death wishes- Raabta has it all! But it's Sushant Singh Rajput- Kriti Sanon's alluring chemistry which turns out to be a more 'paas rakhe ki cheez'!

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